Earlier this month, Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Alabama Law Enforcement Agency deputy secretary John Hamm to serve as the next commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC).

Hamm will replace current ADOC commissioner Jeff Dunn, who will step down at the end of December after nearly seven years in the position.

During an appearance on APTV’s “Capitol Journal,” Ivey said she was instructing Hamm upon his arrival to conduct a “complete audit” on the beleaguered agency, which is under the federal government’s scrutiny for alleged Eighth Amendment violations.

“John has a strong background in law enforcement and has previously served some time at the DOC,” she said. “So, he’ll come on with some new eyes and some new ideas. I just told him I want him to do a complete audit, both financial and personnel, to be sure that everybody who is on the payroll is in fact needed and working.”

“We’ve still got some challenges,” Ivey continued. “We’ve got the two prisons up and starting building in 2022. That will be a good thing because then we can start providing training, education, vocational education and give prisoners, inmates a chance to be rehabilitated and not just warehoused.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.